Quick Shout Out!

Ok I am literally about to fall asleep. 

But I just wanted to say how thankful I am for great weekends...

and naps on monday mornings!!! 

<3 

The Brunette

Living Minimally

It is so easy to forget how very little we need to survive on. When money is tight, you stress and try to find ways to live the same way you did, but that just isn't possible.  In the case that you don't budget properly, you have to be able to live on what you have and entertain yourself.

Now this is not the Brunette saying that she is in said position, but if I was, this is how I would live... :)

Rule #1 - Pack a Lunch
It is stupid to go to work and pay $11 for food that you don't have time to enjoy and then it just has to go to waste. It is stupid. So make food at home, food that you will enjoy just as much. (But if your cabnets are looking empty, improvise... lots of snacks.)

Rule #2 - Don't Even Go There
Don't do things that cost money, or go places where you know you are going to spend money that you don't have. Duh!

Rule #3 - Hydrate
This one is simple. DRINK WATER!!! It's free and Oh So Good for you!!!

Rule #4 - Great Things in Life are Free
Find free things, and utilize them. Free Slurpee's at 7/11... Ummm... Yes please!

Rule #5 - It's Mighty Chilly in There
Look in the freezer, there is food in there that you can eat, there always is!!! I swear it is like the life saver when things are going a little rough! haha

See... 5 simple rules for living minimally.

Stressing about things like money and not having enough is part of life. Everyone struggles with money and it is better to figure it out now before I have a family and people who count on me being very responsible.

Until things balance out, it is important to remember, that you can live on very, very little.

And the beat goes on.

Twenty years ago today, two beautiful twin girls were born. A decade later, and a decade ago, on their 10th birthday, Teagan and Kira (the twins), myself and some of our other friends splashed in a pool and ate cake to celebrate their double digits.

Now, the year is 2010 and I turned twenty back in January, which was weird enough in itself, but now, these girls who I have known for A DECADE are turning twenty. I was at their 10th birthday party... how did this happen? I am sooo confused about where the time went.

Today is just one of those days that makes you realize that you can't hold on to the present. It becomes the past so quickly, you often don't even notice that it is gone until a decade has gone by. I am sitting here, thinking about all the memories that have been made in the last ten years. The twins and I have gone from being little girls, to being independent, strong, intelligent women.

On my 10th birthday, Teagan and Kira came with me to the city to celebrate, and today we are celebrating their twentieth in the same city. And a decade from now, who knows where we will be, but the memories of the last decade will stay with me FOREVER!!!

"And I ask myself about the present: how wide was it, how deep was it, and how much was mine to keep." -Kurt Vonnegut


And the beat goes on.


Happy Birthday Teagan and Kira! You ladies are amazing and I love you both!!! Looking forward to the next ten years!!!

<3
The Brunette

Here's to you!

This blog entry is dedicated to the four beautiful women who have taught me so much about life, love, sex and the city.

Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York, Samantha Jones, and of course, the expert herself, Carrie Bradshaw. Ladies, Here's to you!!!



Sure, they may just be TV show characters to some people, but for me and my friends, these women have been not only provided endless hours of laughter and tears, but they have been teachers in a sense.

The things that Carrie and her three best friends have taught me:

1. I have learned that it is never smart to move to Paris with one man when you are in love with another.

2. I have been exposed to the importance of Minolos.

3. Men who have two first names are HOT!!! Oh Smith Jared you are one sexy thing!!!

4. Mr. Right is out there... you just have to look for him... and look for him... and look for him... :)

5. Tuchus Lingus need not be reciprocated... haha

6. What ever the city, New York or San Francisco, home is home.

7. Two closets are better than one.

8. When in doubt, drink a Cosmo.

9. Most men will, inevitably, let you down.

10. And.. your best friends will, inevitably be there to pick you up.

And the list goes on... Maybe I am giving these characters too much credit... but I have become the strong, smart, outgoing, woman that I am with the help of these women...
So I must give credit where credit is due!! Lovely ladies of Sex and the City... Here's to you!!!!

A Huge Epiphany About Little Pieces

Life is about finding those little pieces of heaven. Searching the world for those tiny details that make it all worth while. We are engineered to seek the things that make our hearts beat just a little faster.

In the last year, I have found so many of these little things. I could cry thinking about how AMAZING the last year of my life has been. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Last summer I got the amazing opportunity to go to Spain and spend 5 weeks living in the most charming town on the planet. Padilla de Duero was and always will be home. The people i met there, even though our conversations were rough through the language barrier, are my family. Salamanca left it mar on me for life, literally i got a tatto in that beautiful city. Spain is a piece of my heaven. I could go on forever about Spain, but I will save that for another blog.

After returning to the states, I spent most of the summer in my BEAUTIFUL apartment in the wonderful city of San Francisco, I have learned to appreciate every little piece of this city. I am sooo close to knowing what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I have my roof, which has become my headquarters anytime I need an escape. I can think clearly out here. Obviously, it inspired this blog.

I found the Shannon, where even 6 glasses of ice water is a great time. The company in that little bar makes me one of the happiest girls in San Francisco. I love the IRISH!!!! Whether Emmett is making me Gin and Tonics, or a cup of tea, I am as cheery as all the other Irish sitting at the bar.

I am living my life for every moment... because in the end that is what it is all about.

For my Philosophy class this semester, we discussed the idea of 'self' and 'purpose' from a religious perspective. We looked at the Christians, the Buddhists, we looked at Hinduism and even at some Philosophers ideas on the subject. On one of the last days before the final, I started this blog up on the roof. I realized that you cannot force anything, because the important things will come effortlessly.

Now, well in to Summer 2010, I know that I am on my path to discovering who I am and what it is about this world that makes me happy. This Brunette is so happy that she has this blog to record all of her discoveries.

Until my next epiphany...

<3 Always
The Brunette

Blame Mercury...

For the last week or so, things have been off. It feels like there has been a disconnect between me and the rest of the world. Weird things from my past have been popping up and communication between me and the world, as well as my brain and my body, has been off.

Everyone could feel it. But once again, Astrology comes to the rescue.

Mercury is in RETROGRADE! But What does that mean? I didn't really know myself, so i decided to research it a little bit.

Mercury governs thoughts and perceptions. When the already slow planet slows down even more,it causes personal misunderstanding. It may be as simple as dropping a coffee cup, or as serious as midlife crisis career changes. Either way, it is important to make decisions carefully and thoughtfully during this part of the year.

Don't jump to any conclusions, and don't blame people for their mistakes, it isn't their fault.


Blame Mercury.

<3

PS
Thanks to Kate for shedding light on this funk that I was in... I thought it was just me!!! I love you sister!!!

Things are Changing

So I feel like I haven't written in forever. Maybe because I haven't! A few things have changed in my life. My career path is taking a slight turn. I was thinking about my future, and I realized I wanted to be able to travel when i am older, but there are other important things in life as well.

So I decided that maybe archaeology isn't where I need to be. No worries! I am finishing My degree in the Classics, but it is what happens afterward that is changing. I think I am going to go to Law School!!!

I know it's crazy, but works and I think I would kick ass in a court room! I owe this epiphany to none other than the wise man at the Shannon Arms... Emmett!

Anyways, so as of right now that is my plan... Can't wait!!!

Connections.

Late Night Wanderings of a Restless Mind

I think about the times in my life when I made a connection with someone, a connection that would impact my life. There are a few who come to mind, but names are not important, and dates are not important, only the connection matters, because they will stay with you forever. Whether is was a mis-connection or a past connection, a casual connection or an intimate connection, they all change us, some more than others.

It doesn't matter if my connection with you was 6 seconds ago or 6 years ago, when our paths cross again, we will know it was for a reason. I look forward to the day that our connection brings us back together. I know that everything happens for a reason, whether or not the outcome is predetermined. We were in the same place, at the same time, for a reason.

We always blame ourselves for mistakes in relationships and as humans it is natural to regret things, but the connection was genuine. If I learn something from you, even if you break my heart, I cannot regret my time with you, you taught me more about me. I can regret decisions I made about you but I cannot regret you.

Our paths may cross only once, or you might be braided throughout my life, but either way you are significant. I can't put a prince on my experience with those people; those people who, in either a constructive, or destructive manor, shuck up my world.

These little thoughts are running around in my head, along with my memories of all of you. I think I am finally ready for you to come back into my life, even if it is only for a fleeting second, I need closure. I need to say thank you.

To the ones who still wait in my future, wondering when I will step on your toes, I am ready and I welcome your challenges, I want to know what lesson you have to offer me.

Isn't it odd though? How people just simply enter and then exit your life, only to show up somewhere down the line, Shaking things up again. My mind is completely blown by the concept. Sure it is easier today with Facebook and cell phones and iChat, but when someone drops in on you from the past, or what you thought was a mis-connection turns out to be real connection, you still are affected by the connection.

Connected and Confused
<3
The Brunette

Spice of Life

Everyone says that Variety is the spice of life, but when it comes to the weather, it is hard to appreciate it. When I left my apartment this morning, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining, but by the time I reached the bus stop, a dark cloud had rolled in and it had begun to pour.

It continued to rain until right after my Egyptian Culture class when, once again, the sun began to shine, teasing everyone outside. My entire Latin class I stared out the window, waiting for it to be 11 so i could go back out into the warmth of the sun, but sure enough, I opened the doors to leave the humanities building and the rain started up again.

Now I am sitting in a gloomy corner of the student center and through the skylights, I see nothing but blue sky. Typical...

<3
The Meteorologically Confused Brunette

First Post : About the Brunette...

So I have been thinking about starting this blog for a LONG time. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp living an amazing life. I am a fun, fabulous, loud, obnoxious, Brunette woman, loving life and living large. I have seen some pretty low lows... but obviously I have made it through and the highs have made every rough patch worth while. So now I am here, typing away on my laptop, needing to share with the rest of the world of beautiful brunette ladies, how I manage to laugh everyday and live a fabulous life. But don't get me wrong, no matter the color of your luscious locks, you are welcome here... I don't discriminate.

Now this may sound like it is an up-lifting, positive, self-help blog, and it may be, but two things that I pride myself on, among my many talents, is my sarcasm and my ability to bullshit anything. I could convince the Surgeon General that swine flu was fake pandemic, and any college professor that I deserve an A on a paper. But don't get me wrong, I am a hard working, motivated girl, I just know how to use my head and bend the rules to make them fit in with my lifestyle. So I guess this blog is just a way for me to vent my frustrations with the world and to let everyone know how I deal with it.... Because if anyone knows me, they know that I KNOW EVERYTHING... and I mean this in the most humble way.

So details about me, I am almost twenty and completely shocked that I am almost two decades old. I am studying Classics at San Francisco State University, totally nerdy, I know. I have lived in Northern California my whole life, but I have done my fair share of traveling as well. I live in an apartment in San Francisco (with two other brunette's) pretty close to the beach and just a short muni ride away from all the amazing things that San Francisco has to offer. I have the most amazing parents in the world, and they raised my little brother and I right...

"Girl, If anyone ever tells you that you haven't lived, you can spit in their face." -- My roommate about me..

For being only twenty years old, I have experienced a lot. I have had my heart broken more than once, spent a month in Spain working on an Archaeological dig, dated the same guy for almost 4 years, swam competitively for 13 years, practiced Buddhism, and enoucuntered countless other random, yet completely important and relevant experiences the last two decades.

I always have something to say, and advice to give, whether or not someone wants to hear it, so look forward to guidelines... they will be coming soon!!!